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In question period, the topic was Canada Health Infoway and the removal of its CEO, following an earlier exchange about the PrescribeIT program. The Conservative member asked the health minister to explain conflicting accounts: she had said she spoke to the agency’s board before it dismissed its CEO, while the board chair said she never spoke to them. The minister replied that she communicates with the agency through Health Canada’s representative on its board rather than directly, and said the board removed the CEO after government contact, with an interim CEO now in place and governance changes underway. The member then asked whether that board representative had misled a House committee and whether the minister would ask him to remove another executive; the minister said the agency is a separate entity from government and that she communicates through her board representative.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

2 statements

Matt Strauss

Conservative
“The health minister said she told a health agency's board to fire its CEO. The head of that board said she never spoke to them about it. I want the minister to tell us which statement is false.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, in response to my question regarding PrescribeIT on May 6, the Minister of Health said that she spoke to the board of directors of Canada Health Infoway, causing them to fire their million-dollar CEO, Michael Green. However, just the day before, the chair of that board, Dr. Peter Vaughan, said that the health minister had never personally raised concerns with him or the board about the $300 million wasted on PrescribeIT. Both these statements cannot be true. Will the health minister tell us which statement was false?

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Matt Strauss

Conservative
“The health minister said she spoke to her board member, but that member did not tell the board chair. Did that person mislead a House committee? If so, will the minister fire another health agency executive?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, am I to understand the health minister spoke with her representative on the board, but that board member did not tell the chair of the board that she had spoken with him? Did he mislead a committee of this House? If so, will she have another conversation with her representative on the board to dismiss another executive at Canada Health Infoway?

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